Open Casket
by RemixedxX
Summary: No summary available RTxDM Rating could be changed.
1. Prologue

**Open Casket  
**Prologue  
May 20th '05

I gave my room a final once-over to be sure I'd left none of my things in any of the many nooks. Nothing. This displeased me, somehow. I suppose I had hoped to give myself a reason to prolong my leaving the small house I'd lived in for so long. Or perhaps I had only hoped to still see a small bit of myself in the bedroom of my childhood. Whatever the case now, there was nothing left. My brother had erased any trace of my existence there, just as he had promised me. So that meant only one thing, it was truly time for us to leave.

Who would've thought that when I escaped from that dark place, in what would have been my fifth year at school, that I would find myself longing for those dark, stone walls? It never bothered me much, I guess because I never showed any sign of weakness. In a way, I know I was safer there than I ever was before.

"Raven?" My brother's voice so rudely interrupted my thoughts, startling me. It was, I guess, nice to hear a voice again. After all, he'd been gone for several days, leaving me alone in the house. I answered him with nothing more than a small squeak which escaped my lips as I turned to face him.

He chuckled underneath his breath. It was a laugh he had hoped that I wouldn't hear, though his hopes had not been realized. "Are you ready to go? We don't want to be late for the train to Hogwarts," he continued, the French accent we both shared flowing fluently over his words.

"Would it really even matter if I said no?" I replied coldly, pulling my denim jacket tighter around me. There seemed to be a draft in the room that night...or it could've been a reaction to the glare I received from him shortly after my smart response. I knew better than to speak to him that way, but I found that it slipped my mind quite easily sometimes. Ever since the death of our parents, he'd been a bit more angry with me. I suppose that was because he was unaware of my innocence in the process. Whatever the case, he was now my legal guardian, and there was sadly nothing I could do to escape him...that I'd found, in any case.

A sly smile stretched across his normally solemn lips as he shook his head. "No, it won't really matter, I don't guess. Raven, you know we have to go to school _somewhere_...and Beauxbatons, well, is out of the question." He rested a hand on my shoulder at these words, as if that were going to help. He knew how much it hurt, having to leave Beauxbatons early. I had friends there, people I cared about...something I'd never had before. Most people, no matter how hard they tried, found they couldn't get along with a girl like me. Someone who, thanks to the Ministry, most people thought they could never trust...someone who, if you turned your back, would stab you repeatedly, ...so to speak. A smirk snuck across my features at such a thought. I was glad my brother didn't question it.

I felt almost as if I'd been hit by a fast moving truck. Heaven knows, my brother's fake sympathy hurt me more than if he'd never showed any care at all. Sometimes it was almost as if he hated me.

"Let's just get going, Ryan," I groaned as I pushed angrily past him, and stepped through the doorway. As I made my way towards the door which would take me to the outside world I'd learned to fear, I realized how much I despised most people. I knew that this wasn't going to be a good year for me. It was hard, even at Beauxbatons, for me to make friends...if you even really wanted to call them that. I felt, most of the time, that I couldn't trust them. That if they found out who I really was, I'd be taken back to my home. Not the home I knew, or the one I hated, but the one where I was safe. The one where I was under a constant watch, the place I could still picture ever so perfectly in my mind.

I let out an exhausted sigh as I piled the remainder of my school supplies into the trunk I'd be taking to Hogwarts school. I'd already packed my sister's things the night before, as far as I could recall, and I knew that she'd be there any moment to check over my progress. The two of us, sadly, had never gotten along...even before the accusations that were thrown around after the death of our parents. Of course, after such, we'd grown farther apart. Somehow, I thought Raven believed that I had pulled off such an intricate murder, but that was untrue.

I jumped suddenly, snapping back into reality. My clock had chimed as it struck the hour, meaning it'd be time for Raven to be arriving. I closed my eyes for a moment as I rested in the wooden chair in the corner of my room. I'd hear my sister when she entered, so there was no point to meet her at the door.

Speak of the devil. Moments later, I heard a door slam. I knew it was Raven..not only did she have the only key to our house, but no one else would be so angry returning home. I stood and made my way to her now-empty bedroom, deciding it'd be best to hurry her along. She wouldn't like it..but we couldn't miss the train to school, of course.

"Raven?" I called her name as I entered the bedroom a short walk later. She didn't answer, as far as I was aware, but I'm fairly sure I heard yet another mouse scramble across the worn wooden floor beneath us. She turned to look at me, green eyes flickering with what appeared as anger. I proposed I'd interrupted her, as I so often did, but thought it better that I make no mention of it. I laughed quietly at such...surely her thoughts weren't too important, anyway.

"Are you ready to go? We don't want to be late for the train to Hogwarts," I motioned solemnly to her, staring down to the floor. I thought that she'd be eager to return to a far off school. She hated our home here in France, and I knew it.. but neither of us could afford anything better.

"Would it really even matter if I said no?" she asked in return, tugging her jacket around her. This angered me, more than usual. I thought that the things I'd done for her recently--cooking her meals, cleaning her room, and packing her things for school--that she could at least be a bit more gracious towards me..not that she ever was to begin with.

As I lifted my gaze to meet her own, a small smile played across my features. It was nice to be able to see my sister's..innocent face once again, after having her taken away from me for so long. Shaking my head, I inhaled. "No, it won't really matter, I don't guess. Raven, you know we have to go to school _somewhere_...and Beauxbatons, well, is out of the question," I explained to her, lifting a hand to rest it reassuringly upon her shoulder. I could only hope it'd make her feel the least bit better..there wasn't much more than that I could do. Moments later, after a small period of what I assumed was more of Raven's constant angry thoughts, I noticed a smirk. Surely it was nothing, I decided, and I let the subject fade away.

"Let's just get going, Ryan," my sister growled at me as she pushed me aside to escape from the room. I watched her intently for as far as I could..until she disappeared around the corner of the hall. I knew where she was going, of course--to have a final look around our home. It may be small, and nothing more than a hole in a wall, but we'd both grown accustomed to living here.

I looped the handle of her single bag over my arm as I made my way from her bedroom, glancing out of the room through the foggy window. What a day it had been. "Nice," I groaned as the clouds parted, allowing several drops of rain to fall from them, landing in older puddles that had been drying.

I pushed painfully through the door leading outside, flashing a small grin to a squirrel that hurried underneath my feet. "Raven?" I asked again, before noticing her small body perched on a nearby, low treebranch.

"Yes, Ryan, I know...," she responded quietly, nearly in a whisper as she hopped from the tree. "We have to start going.. it's a long walk to King's Cross Station."

She took the words right out of my mouth. With a confused expression, I nodded my head in agreement, and took her hand. "Come on, then," I smiled, enjoying the raindrops which fell around us. Her body tensed as I did this--my guess is that she wasn't used to my coming anywhere near her. I led her along, dragging our luggage behind us as we began our long walk down the wet sidewalks. We'd reach the train station soon enough, board the train, and be on our way to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry by morning.

_Author's Note_: This was written in two different original characters' point of views: Raven's first, and then it retold the story in her brother Ryan's, as you probably noticed. There are several contrasts as well. Rest assured that the rest of this story isn't written this way, although the point of views do change...just not in the same chapter. The next chapter is written in a different character's POV--I'll leave you on your own to figure out who's. (It's easy!)


	2. Chapter I: Complicated

**Open Casket  
**Chapter I  
May 20th '05

She sat down across from me, but refused to say a word. Every Slytherin had watched her cross the room to our table after being the last to be sorted. I recognized her name--"Towers, Raven"--her older brother had attended Hogwarts the year before, and was given Prefect priviledges over the summer.

"Welcome! Welcome to another term at Hogwarts!" I could hear Dumbledore bellow cheerfully, interrupting my thoughts. While all of the older students had heard this same speech, with few variations, every year--and had learned to ignore it--most of the newer students listened intently as the Headmaster rattled off new additions to the list of items forbidden now at Hogwarts. (Several of which had been contributed by the Weasley twins during their last year of attendance.)

Pansy Parkinson gently tapped my shoulder, startling me. "What?" I hissed angrily, not bothering to turn my attentions to her.

"Do you realize just how big of an ass you're making out of yourself?" she asked me in return, a smirk crossing her lips. She obviously enjoyed this.

I finally looked away from the new student. "What?" I repeated, growing a bit frustrated.

Pansy simply rolled her eyes. "You've been staring at that Towers girl ever since she sat down, Draco," she informed me, "She's bound to notice--"

"--Dig in!" Dumbledore exclaimed loudly, cutting Pansy's statement off--and for once, I was thankful. The golden platters which had been sitting so tantalizingly in front of us for so long suddenly filled with all types of delicious foods. A stir arose in the Great Hall as every student reached out, fought other students, spilled several platters--and broke a couple to fill their plates with food. Then, after a moment's deliberation, as if everyone was trying to decide which delicacy to devour first, the noise was silenced as we began to eat--all it seemed, except the new girl. She only stared at an empty golden platter. Whether only nervous or not hungry, I didn't know, but I classified this action as strange, and apparently, my "friends" agreed.

"What's her problem?" was whispered throughout the Slytherin table. I knew, of course, they had all hoped she had over heard them...and normally, I would have joined right in with them.

"Y-you're not going to eat?" I questioned, surprised at my own remark. It was rare you would hear me—the great Draco Malfoy—stammer.

She, however, didn't seem to find this—or me—worth her while: another rare occurance.

"Hey!" Crabbe exclaimed, slowly as usual, from the other side of Pansy. "Don't you know Draco asked you a question?"

Raven averted her gaze to him, as if she hadn't been aware of his presence until he had spoken. (How she missed him, I'll never know...)

"Yes," she replied simply, "but I found the answer fairly obvious. No food on my plate, and there's none in my mouth, is there?"

I swallowed my mouthful of food suddenly at her snappy answer, causing me to splutter and reach for my glass of pumpkin juice.

Crabbe didn't respond. I figured her logic was just a bit too much for his tiny brain.

"No reason to be so rude!" Pansy sneered, taking a bite of a biscuit she had been admiring in her hand for quite some time. Her eyebrows wrinkled while she searched her mind for something to add to her observation, but failed miserably.

I on the other hand, allowed the subject to drop, after noticing the girl's brother slinking up slyly behind her.

Ryan lazily rested a hand on his sibling's shoulder, a slightly bewildered expression finding it's way onto her normally uncaring face. He leaned over to whisper something into Raven's ear, and as hard as I tried, I found this impossible to over hear. To assure him she understood, Raven nodded her head. And with a smirk to Crabbe—or Goyle, I couldn't tell—he turned to leave.

Raven caught onto the sleeve of his robes, stopping him in his tracks. "Show me where the common room is, before you go," she demanded. He tugged his sleeve away from her, refusing to fulfill her request.

"No time," he grunted, stalking away as to not hear his sister's pleading.

"Damn," Raven complained under her breath. The first years had already been given their common room passwords and had been lead away after Dumbledore had given them his 'few words'—"Horseradish, gobbledy-gook, and lemon drops" this year—and a goodnight. Raven had refused to joined the younger newcomers.

"You could follow--" I began, with the intention of offering to show her the way. When I looked up, I noticed she had already slid from her seat, and therefore ceased from completing my offer. I let out a sigh of frustration and shook my head. Why did women have to be so complicated?

_Author's Note:_ Yeah. I know that this chapter wasn't so very eventful—but how many first chapters do you read that really are? I also realize it's a bit short. o; But hey, it's my first shot at a Harry Potter fanfic (besides my prologue!), so cut me some slack.


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